title: Fluoxetine treatment of children and adolescents with Tourette's and obsessive compulsive disorders: preliminary clinical experience.
abstract: Fluoxetine hydrochloride is the first selective serotonin uptake inhibitor introduced commercially in the United States. This report describes preliminary clinical experience with fluoxetine in 10 children and adolescents, aged 8 to 15 years, with primary obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or Tourette's syndrome (TS) plus OCD. In general, fluoxetine, which was administered from 4 to 20 weeks at a dosage of 10 or 40 mg per day, was well tolerated. Adverse effects included behavioral agitation/activation in four patients and mild gastrointestinal symptoms in two patients. No abnormalities were noted in the seven children who had follow-up EKGs. Five of the 10 patients (50%) were considered responders; their obsessive-compulsive symptoms decreased substantially during treatment with fluoxetine. Responder rates were similar in the primary OCD (two of four, 50%) and TS + OCD (three of six, 50%) groups. In conclusion, short-term fluoxetine administration appears to be safe in children and adolescents. Placebo-controlled trials are needed to further assess the efficacy of fluoxetine.
authors.affiliation: Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hardin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scahill
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Woolston
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017109:Akathisia, Drug-Induced; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine